Lay for narrow ware looms



Dec. 25, 1951 E R HQLMES ErAL 2,580,175

LAY FOR NARRCW WARE LOOMS Filed Feb. 6, 1950 INVENTORS vELBRIDGE R. HOLMES PAUL L. SAFFORD @MQM- ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 25, 1951 sans LAY FOR NARROW WARE LOOMS Elbridge R. Holmes, Worcester, and Paul L. Safford,l Shrewsbury, Mass., assignors to Crompton & Knowles LoompWoi-ks, Worcester, Mass., ay corporation of Massachusetts Application February c, 195o, serial No. 142,562

distances apart to permit the weaving of webs' Thus, when the web-beingv of different widths. woven is quite narrow the shuttle blocks are relatively close together, but when the webs are much wider the blocks are spread apart a greater distance. The blocks carry pinions which mesh with the shuttles and also with a rack rod which reciprocates along the lay. The teeth of the rack rod ordinarily face upwardly and are likely to collect dust or lint unless adequately protected and covered. l

When narrow ware lays are made of a lightweight metal such as aluminum or magnesium or their alloys it is a matter of practical difficulty to provide suitable coverage or protection for the parts of the rack rod which extend between the shuttle blocks. particularly when the blocks are to be close together under some conditions and farther apart under other conditions. important object of the present invention to provide cover plates for the lay extending over the rack rod between the shuttle blocks and held in position by spring clips or the like which can be readily snapped into position without requiring the use of screws, etc., extending into the lay.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a metal lay beam with longitudinally extending beads or grooves to receive the arms or ngers of spring clips which hold the cover plates in position.

In order that the spring clip may have ad'- equate resilience one of its vertical arms is'made relatively long to t into a groove or under a bead located on an appreciable distance below the top of a lay beam. Since these clips are in alignment with the' reed dents located at the back of the lay it is preferable that the long arms at the front of the lay so that there will be v a minimum of interference between the clips and the reeds.

When the shuttle blocks are of different spacing it is necessary to employ cover plates of different widths, but in order that the manner of holding in position may be eincient and cheap it-is a further object of the invention to make the clips of a uniform width less than the nar' It Ais anY .7 claims. (c1. 139-136) rowest of the cover plates so that only one set of spring clips will be needed for a lay to be used with cover plates of various widths.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrange ment of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying'drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of the invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one end of the lay 0f a narrow ware loom having the invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse vertical section on line 2-2, Fig. 1,

yFig. 3 is a perspective view of a protecting cover plate,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the resilient clip which rits over the plate, and

Figs. 5 and 6 are diagrammatic views showing two spacings of shuttle blocks on two different lays or as the blocks may be arranged at different times on the same lay, and indicating cover plates of different widths.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the lay beam Ii) is mounted on swords one of which is indicated at II and reciprocates backwardly and forwardly in usual manner. The beam has an upwardly opening slot I2 dened between front and back walls I3 and I4, respectively. Located within the slot between the walls is a rack rod I5 which may be reciprocated by means of a cable IB trained over a sheave Il rotatable on the lay beam.

A plurality of shuttle blocks 2li are spaced along the lay and are held in position by block supports or backs 2l secured as at 22 to the back of the beam. Each block has rotatable therein a pinion 23 meshing with the rack rod I5 and also with a shuttle S. The blocks are provided with curved guide grooves 2li along which the shuttles move. Each shuttle 'passes from one block 4across a warp space 25` to the adjacent block in one direction when the rack rod moves inl one direction with respect to the lay and has a return movement across the space 25 when the rack rod moves in the opposite direction. EX- cept as noted hereinafter the foregoing is of usual construction and operates in the ordinary manner.

The beam Iii has front and back upper surfaces 38 and 3 I, respectively, extending along the tops of the walls I3 and I 4. Resting on these surfaces between the shuttle blocks are cover plates 32 one of which is shown in Fig. 3. The cover plate may be made of thin material, preferably wood, and is of a sufficient width to cover the rack rod between adjacent blocks 20. The blocks extend over and cover the rack rod between the plates 32.

The front wall I3 is provided with a groove 35 below a bead lf and the rear wall I4 has a second groove Si below a bead 38. The grooves and beads run lengthwise of the beam are pref' erably parallel to their respective top surfaces Si? and 3|. l

A resilient clip ed is provided for each of vthe cover plates, each clip including a flat body M," a rear down-turned edge forming ashort arm or finger 42 having a rib 43 to venter the rear groove 3l under the bead 38,1 and a forward relatively long arm or nger 4'5 having a bend'or crimp 455 to enter the forwaifd. groovelunden The body El preferably extends forbead 36. l v wardly from the front wall I3 a slight 'amount as indicated for instance at lll in Fig. 2, and the frontend backarm's 45 and AZarecfsuch' Fig. 5 shows shuttle blocks 29A arranged in` close order so thatthe cover. plates 32A will be quite narrow. Fig. 6, on the other hand, shows shuttle blocks 213B spaced vapart by'a considerable distance and requiring a wider coverplate 32B. It will be`noted,ghowever, that in both Figs. 5 and 6 the springclips ad are of the same width.

In the construction of narrow ware-looms it is customary to mount reeds between the shuttle blocks. These reeds are designated at R and as shown in Fig. 2, where one ofthe reeds is setV forth, the bottom reed rail' rests on anV angle' support 5l secured as at 52 to the lay beam le. The rearshort arm t2 of the clip is located a short distance above the bottom rail 5b forward. of the reed dents 53 and does not interfere with r the reed.` It is because ofzthe location of. the reed that it is preferable to have .the long arm l5 on the front part of the lay.

The lay beams may be extruded which permits the grooves to be formed at the timeV that the beam is made. in the width of the beam throughout its length and one of the reasons for the long arms is to take this variation into account. When' the clip is in its normal relaxed form the distance between the bottoms of the arms 42 and ll5will be slightly less than the minimum width of the beam between; grooves 35 and 3"! which is likely to be encountered. In this way the clips are always under some resilient stress tending to hold them in place.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth simple means by which the cover plates 32 maybe detachably secured to the top of the lay beam over the rack rod to protect the latter from dust and lint. The plate is not secured directly to the lay beam, but is held in' position by a clip which has resilient arms entering grooves running llengthwise of the lay beam, or caught under beads on thebeam. The clips are of a relativelynarrow width landcan be used with cover plates of various widths.. Since the grcovesrun lengthwise of the beam'lihl? There may be slightvariations f clips can be secured at any desired points along the length of the beam depending upon the width of the spaces between the shuttle blocks. Also, the forward depending arm of each clip is preferably suiiiciently long to provide adequate resilience and extends forwardly from the top of the lay beam to accommodate slight variations in the width of the beam.

Having thus described the invention it will be seen that changes and modiiications of the foregoing specific disclosure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.-

What is claimed as new is:

' l. rIna lay for a narrow ware loom, a lay beam having a; slotV therein containing a rack rod,

spacedshuttle blockson the beam extending over the slot,` acover plate on the beam between the blocks and over the-slot, and a resilient clip extending over the cover plate resilient-,ly engaging the beam and holding the cover platev in position on the beam. y

2.L In a lay for a narrow ware loom, a lay beam having a slot therein containing a'V rack rod. spaced vshuttle blocks on the beam extending over'V the slot, a cover plate on the beam between the blocks and over the slot,'and aresilient clip extending over the cover. plate resiliently engaging the beam at points below the plate and holding the latter` in position on the beam.

3. In a lay for a narrow ware loom, a lay beam having a slot therein containing a, rack rod', spaced shuttle blocks on the beam' extending over the slot, a cover platelying on the beam between the shuttle blocks and over the slot,va nd resilient clip means extending transversely of the beam over and engaging the plate between the shuttle blocks and havingdownbent ends' resilientlyengaging the beam and holding the plate and clipY down on the beam.

4. In a lay for a narrow ware loom, a lay beam having a slot therein containing a rack rod, transversely spaced beads on the beam running lengthwise thereof below the top' of the beam. spaced shuttle blocks on the beam extending over the slot, a, cover vplate lying on the top of the beam between the shuttle blocks and over the slot, and resilient clip means transverse of the beam extending over and engaging the plate and having downbent ends resiliently engaging said beads and holding the plate and clip down on the beam.

5. In a lay for a narrow ware loom, a lay `beam having a slot therein containing a rack rod, spaced' plate extending over the slot between said shuttle blocks, a resilient clip extending over the plate transversely ofthe lay and having an arm extending downalong the back of the lay and having another arm extending down along the front' of the lay and'having` the upper part thereof' spaced from the beam, and beads on the lay re-I siliently engaged by said arms to hold the clip and cover plate in position on the beam;

.7. In a narrow ware lay beam having la reed at A' the rear thereof and ashuttleblock on'eacnside 6 oi.' the reed, the beam having a, rack rod in a slot extending under the shuttle blocks, a cover plate REFERENCES CITED on the lay beam between the Shuttle blocks eX' The following references are of record in the tending over said slot, a resilient clip extending me of this patent: over the cover plate heaving a, rear depending arm 5 extending down along the back of the beam and UNITED STATES PATENTS- terminating above rthe bottom of the reed, the Number Name Date cover plate having a front depending resilient 617,191 Schaum Jan. 3, 1899 arm extending down along the front of the beam, 1,032,321 Benz July 9, 1912 and lengthwise beads on the beam under which 10 1,066,771 Widmer July 8, 1913 said arms extend to hold the clip and cover plate on the beam.

ELBRIDGE R.' HOLMES. PAUL L. SAFFORD. 

